Lengthy prison term urged for online luring

Former court security guard Daniel Thomas Mackie should go to prison for 12 years for coaxing and extorting more than 20 young children over the Internet to send him nude photographs of themselves, a judge was told.

Crown prosecutor Nadine Nesbitt told provincial court Judge Catherine Skene that one cannot diminish the psychological harm that Mackie did to the victims, even though he never physically met them.

“The luring is Mr. Mackie going online using different modes of persuasion or trickery to get them to do the underlying offences of child pornography,” Nesbitt argued.

She said among the aggravating factors were the large number of victims, the young ages of most of the victims and the long period over which Mackie committed the offences — four years.

Even after he was first charged by police, she said, he continued to reoffend in a similar manner and breached release conditions.

“There was a level of planning and deliberation, and the specific nature of his offences are aggravating,” she continued. “There was a high level of deceit and manipulation to commit these offences and it escalated in severity.”

Nesbitt also noted Mackie was considered in pre-sentence reports to be a moderate to high risk to reoffend, as he seems to minimize the severity of his crimes.

Mackie told doctors who conducted psychological and psychiatric tests on him that he extorted naked photographs from children for “the thrill of the hunt” and “to see how far the kids would go.”

He posed as “DrewTosh” on Nexopia and used Facebook to contact 21 boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 16 between November 2007 and July 2011.

He also texted children on their cellphones.

More than once he used his victims’ Facebook and email accounts to contact their friends, pretending to be the victims.

He told one girl he would “ruin her life” if she did not send him nude pictures, according to court documents.

After extorting a photo of a 12-year-old girl in her underwear, Mackie hacked into her MSN account and posted it as her profile picture.

He told her he knew where she lived and where she went to school.

She was so scared, she relented and sent him two naked pictures of herself to get him to stop.

He posted a nude photo on her profile for an hour.

Mackie pleaded guilty last year to 85 charges, including 17 counts of luring, 20 charges of accessing, possessing, making and distributing child pornography, and five counts of extortion.

Other charges included invitation to sexually touch, sexual counselling of a child, indecent exposure, unlawful harassment, carrying a concealed weapon and mischief with data.

Mackie’s lawyer, James Wyman, who argued for a seven-year prison sentence, called it a difficult case for the defence as “the acts of my client are morally reprehensible.”

He said, though, his client is only 26 and is eager to take counselling for his deviant behaviour.

Wyman noted his client worked in security at the courthouse, but was not a sheriff who worked in courtrooms or with prisoners. He said he worked nights in surveillance, “just him, a computer and monitor.”

The lawyer said Mackie had no contact with the underage victims, except by telephone. He said he met one 18-year-old woman in person, but nothing sexual happened.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

A Radio-Canada reporter has been arrested for alleged criminal harassment while pursuing the subject of a story. According to Radio-Canada, reporter Antoine Trépanier was arrested Tuesday night by Gatineau police. He was released on a promise to appear in court. Trépanier was called by Gatineau police Tuesday evening and an officer requested that he come […]

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.